A Moment at the Great Wall

I'm a dreamer. I'm constantly thinking about what's around the next corner, making plans (or "schemes" as Don calls them) and looking for possibilities. I consider this one of my strengths, and yet it is also a weakness. Sometimes I find that I'm looking too far ahead, not appreciating the present, and undervaluing what I already have. So when I have an experience that grounds me firmly in the present, it makes a big impression on me.

I can only name a few such occasions. One was standing in London's Hyde Park with Don and the kids, our first trip overseas together as a family. We couldn't believe that we were actually there with our three young children. Another would be any time I see the Grand Canyon. It humbles me, makes me feel small, yet amazes me that I'm part of something so large. It puts me in my place.

This trip to the Great Wall was just such an experience. I had been to the wall before; three years ago I went there with another teacher, a friend of mine, for a teacher exchange program in China. The wall was crawling with tourists, and our tour guide was hounding us to keep our visit short. It was great, but I knew I needed to go back to see it differently.

And this trip was entirely different. The few tourists at that part of the wall went east, and we went west. We pitched our tents in an original watch-tower with no roof. We spent almost 24 hours absolutely by ourselves, just the wall, the hills and us. As dusk approached, we watched the sky glow orange behind the next tower. We slept with the tower walls around us and the stars for our roof. We woke as the sun and the wall met at the horizon. The entire time I was in awe of our surroundings and the solitude. And most of all, I was grateful that we were experiencing it together.

It was and entire day of being in the moment, and not wanting the moment to end.

That's So China: Taxi or Formula One?

I'm usually a cheapskate about transportation here and insist on taking buses whenever possible, but we were running late, so we took a taxi to church. You never quite know what you are getting yourself into when you get a taxi here. The drivers range from the rare careful driver, to the more common race-car-driver-wanna-be. Today was one of the latter. He grunted when I told him the directions, which I've found to be a sign of a fast driver, and, sure enough, he sped through red lights most of the way (Moral dilemma: When you're late for church, is it okay to hope the driver runs red lights?). We're so used to this kind of thing that none of us flinch or even notice anymore when breaking the traffic laws. I don't even cringe when driving in the path of an oncoming bus. All to be expected here.

This guy, however, was notable because he had been smoking before he picked us up, and so he thoughtfully held his cigarette out the window with his left hand while he steered and changed gears with his right. It sounds impressive, but the prize for the most skillful taxi driver I've experienced goes to the guy who used his left hand to talk on his cell phone, while his right hand held his wallet, and still managed to steer and shift gears. Imagine the admiration I felt when this same driver shot the gap to pass a long line of cars, and just made it back into the right lane in time to avoid the oncoming traffic.

I do have other favorite rides, though, that are on the other end of the spectrum. There's the chatty woman driver, I've ridden with her twice, who when I tell her directions, repeats them over and over, asks me for confirmation, and thanks me profusely. She says a whole lot of other things to me, while I nod and pretend like I understand her. Another guy I've ridden with more than once played easy-listening music and drove at an even, leisurely pace, obeying all traffic rules. I felt like I'd just had a good 15 minutes of meditation after getting out of his cab. Of course, I must have jinxed it by telling him, "See you again," because I haven't seen him since. Another memorable driver hacked and spit out the window with great gusto for most of the drive. This skill still enables the driver to use both hands to maneuver the car, so all in all I considered it a good ride.

So, whether it's driving with one hand, sqeaking through an intersection by just missing the cross traffic, or hocking a juicy loogie, I have to hand it to the taxi drivers here: they're one talented bunch.